Mrs. Stitham

I wish I could be as creative as everyone else with their sonnet writing abilities......no I don't. I won't lie. I enjoyed listening to Mrs. Stitham. I couldn't stop myself from agreeing with her at so many levels that I did interject that and probably interrupted her flow in speaking. Thank you for getting her information to me. I am contacting her this weekend to speak to my district office and the other teachers on the curriculum rewrite committee in hopes that it doesn't just inspire the other young teachers who are in on the process, but I hope she revitalizes some of the veteran teachers who seem to be on board just to check a block in hopes of getting a position in the district office after the process concludes.

I followed her 3 levels like everyone else did and it seems to fit all the other graphic organizers out there that justify the statistics for education. But I think I was paying more attention to them because they are based on her real world teaching observations and not some book that molds the statistics to every kid in the country.

My hopes are that I will report back next week to the class that I had a successful outcome from drawing on her insight. But, if it's not, I will not call it a loss or a defeat because she at least has validated to me that I am following a line of thought or a philosophy of Language Arts education that not only means something but is correct despite the current trends to teach tests.

Thanks for including her in our class and our foundation in this learning process.

Susan Stitham & Shakespeare

I had the pleasure of first being introduced to Susan when I first entered the SOE program. She was the guest of honor/keynote speaker and boy did she speak. She spoke, for whatever length of time, without a breath of air.

I wasn't peeved by the lack of brevity but she had my full attention because she was talking about Shakespeare and OSHA. She had a lot of good points and I was particularly impressed because she was above or at least on par with my Shakespeare professor at the University. Anyway, she is a fantastic speaker who has the ability to embark on many topics and, for the most part, find her way back full circle. Usually.

I'm slightly jealous of Susan's speaking capabilities because she remains so close to the topic without going off on rampant tangents. I really would like to see her in a teaching setting because I bet the students would love her.

On a side note, I had recently found out that she sat in on a class (I don't remember when) that my old Shakespeare prof taught and she scoffed at a lot of his theories and ideas. I love insight like that because I, as a teacher, know we are not infallible.

Sestina for Susan Stitham

Oh Ms Stitham, bring on thou energy !

Fuel our flagging classroom with powered inquiry!

Dive into the fishbowl--

The clear waters of an authentic exam,

The metacognitive awareness of the mind vault.

Because, like clouds and starfish, different is each student.

 

How are we currently challenging each student?

Do we scaffold up from the literal text with any energy?

Help them bend and stretch; help them execute a limber pole-vault

Up, up and beyond the basest factual inquiry!

“To strive to seek to find” ways for them to look hard at each exam.

Though the word connotes containment, fluid swimming happens in a fishbowl.

 

Humans, if they still had gills, would feel at home in a fishbowl.

Comfort and ease is not true learning for each student!

At the end of the day, in a teacher’s final exam,

We should find within ourselves a deeper energy.

A bubble-peircing instrument for releasing the seeds of inquiry,

A muscled thrust and heave to open up the vault.

 

“An arched structure, usually of masonry, serving to cover a space”: is a vault.

Let us, as teachers, be this for our students above the fishbowl.

Let us be brick-bastions of inquiry,

Purveyors of discernment and thinking for each student

May we do this with quad-espresso Stitham energy!

And in the end we will pass the exam.

 

But to prepare only for the exam

Is to ignore how we are the overarching bridge, the vault,

The inspiring encouragers of student energy,

The challengers and gatekeepers of the fishbowl.

Leave not one behind as a straggler or bummer lamb- each student!

Kicking and bleating we will pull them into learned inquiry!

 

And after four sestets this gets tedious—this inquiry.

Why have I done this?  Is there some exam?

“Federally highly qualified” in archaic poetry forms—is this good for a student?

All my questions go unanswered, locked into a vault.

Like uneaten food-flakes drifting to the bottom of a fishbowl.

And I may not get it back, all this energy.

 

Somehow, some way, we should reach each student;

We should encourage individual inquiry.

 

We need to create and maintain our energy

To affect our students and to succeed at the genuine exam.

 

Answers and ideas are not locked into a vault

They are swimming, small and silent in a fishbowl.

 

 

 

Susan Stitham

Susan spoke about the Essential Learning Pyramid and the 3 level model of comprehension. Please add your thoughts about her presentation and how it may apply to your situation. Or, if you want to apply some of what she talked about, do it as a sonnet, from the perspective of Huck Finn, or through another connection. Actually, in the sake of time, your analysis can also be straight forward if you so choose.

Gayle's visit

This was a great presentation. I really enjoyed looking at her slides showing the different pieces of factual law that can guide how we should conduct our classes and what to be cautious of when it comes to discussions or projects.

I had some questions about the limits I can push as a teacher and I emailed them to Prof. Meath. Mostly my concern is what are we giving up by being extremely cautious in this day and age. Really, it comes down to doing what we feel we can afford to do as the teachers.

Ultimately, I am taking away a few things from this presentation. I have to be aware and I have to spend time thinking about the global implications of the things we do and say as teachers. Students come from a wide variety of backgrounds and so do their parents. We have to be aware that everything we do and say will be sent home altered, so making sure we are very clear and well documented is obviously the big picture I now see more clearly.

Jealousy breeds contempt

I really wanted an interesting title for this post. I thought about it for a while and this saying just kept running through my head and I realized it was true.

Jealousy:
Rafe's class was, in my opinion, an anomaly. I've been battling with my frosh to read Romeo & Juliet for two weeks now and have to babystep them through it. It is tedious language and it took me years to get comfortable with it. How in the hell is he getting these young kids to not only read it but enjoy it and comprehend it? In short, it's not fair.

Romeo and Juliet is a great story. There's love, death, Leonardo DiCaprio, hatred...it's these 14 and 15 year olds lives. Forget Hamlet and his damn monologues and supposed psychotic break; teen angst is where it's at.

It was nice to see that Rafe had a good rapport with his kids. It's encouraging and heartwarming and blah blah blah. I want MY kids to have the same eager attitudes towards Shakespeare, hell, towards any book that his did. I can only hypothesize that his kids wanted to learn because they were inner-city castoffs. Maybe with the risk of losing everything dangling right in front of them they decided to take a chance with academic success. I know for a fact that every single kid in my freshmen class could do well if they just put the effort in.

Contempt:
I was slightly annoyed when I found out that the movie was glamorized. I want to see kids beating each other up, throwing paper around their class, spilling drinks, tripping one another, failing, passing, taking tests, walking through the hallway. I want real life not some dramatized edited cut and paste version.
We all have great days. We all have days that we wish we could go back and re-do. Which days do we have more of? How many yards of tape are laying on the editing room floor?
Sure, we learn from our mistakes. That's a given. Why can't we learn from other people's mistakes? Isn't that why "America's Funniest Home Videos" is still on the air?
I'm not saying he's a bad teacher in any way. I'm more upset that downs weren't shown along with the ups. It's very...disappointing.

Education vs. Students vs. Free Speech

When it comes to the topic of free speech, I'm all over it. I believe in free speech. For everyone. I also believe in moderation and self-control as well as a time and a place. I might be mired in hypocrisy (alright, I definitely am) when I say that 14-16 year old students don't have enough experience to have a political opinion, therefore they shouldn't even want to display it. They're entirely too young to know what is going on in regards to a president or candidate. They learn through/from their parents or adopt beliefs that sits in contrary to public opinion.

I know I'm generalzing/stereotyping/making snap judgements overloaded with fallacious statements. But I have experience with this sort of thing. I had an opinion when I was their age. I did things just to piss off administration. And I did them well. For some reason, kids need to test the limits of everything. Speech, actions, quality of work, etc. Maybe it's the cause and effect. Maybe they're just out to ruffle status quo.

This brings me to my next point: How do they know they've gone too far? As asinine as it was to have "Bong hits 4 Jesus" on a poster, did they know the laws/rules they encroached upon? I suggest that within their education they learn about these cases. Maybe they'll come up with new ways to surprise us.

And where the hell were the parents??!

Comments on Gayle Pierce's presentation

It was interesting to have Gayle come and speak with us on the topic of free speech and to learn about some of the background behind some of the court cases. It is a challenging situation for teachers, I think, in this time when we have to be so very careful about what we say and teach. I think we live in a time of social insecurity, when people are afraid of opinions that contradict their own, and as a result, we must be exceedingly sensitive when we teach. As teachers, we are challenged to teach our students to accept opinions that differ from their own, but we must do it in a way that is politically neutral.
I do think it's important to keep in mind that students are impressionable—and that our own opinions might sway theirs. But at the same time, I struggle with having to reserve our own opinions when asked direct questions. In a way, this seems disingenuous.
I guess it boils down to playing the game and jumping through all right hoops—without losing sight of our goal ... to teach students to think critically.

Thinking it Through: Gayle Pierce's visit

      The hardest part about deciding the legalities on each of the case studies presented in our last class session was coming to terms with the idea that there was "no going back".  The actions had already been committed; it wasn't time to replay the scenario and discuss what should have been done differently.  What I learned from Gayle Pierce's visit was that, as a teacher, before I speak or act in a way that curtails student expression I need to always ask 1) is this (action or phrase) my only option? and, if not 2) is it the best option? In some situations there may be time to consult with an an appropriate friend/administrator.  Some times there may only be a few minutes available in which to make a choice.  If no one is in immediate danger, as a teacher, I should take those minutes to think it through.

       I found Gayle approachable, clarifying, patient, and kind.  She seems like a wonderful student advocate.  I wouldn't hesitate to ask her advice if needed. 

Education and free speech

Gayle Pierce presented a number of scenarios and court cases regarding free speech and education. How does this impact you as a classroom teacher?

be kind; work hard

    I genuinely enjoyed watching "The Hobart Shakespearians". I was a little put-off by his sense of propriety of the students and their future, or the phrase "I want them to be Americans".  There are layers there (laden with my baggage) about what American success looks like, that make me uncomfortable.  What is apparent is that his day-to-day modus operandi nurtures these kids emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually.  He does this by teaching "by any means necessary" and by putting in 12-hour days, 6 days-a-week.  Such dedication can tap into any teacher's sense of inadequacy in comparison.

     But what is really working in his classroom, and what can we take away?  I keep thinking about the boy who talked about how, when he asked for clarifying questions, other teachers always responded "I just said that, you should've been listening" but Mr. Rafe would "repeat it 500 times" if necessary.  I see the former SO often in my internship it breaks my heart.  Many times even I, the focused adult, "didn't get it", or my mind slipped back to something for a second and I lost the instructions.  There must be some way to minimize the need to ask annoying repeat questions, while communicating to students that they aren't 'bad' for asking again.

      Mantras.  Be kind; work hard.  In lesson planning we should begin with the end in mind, but wouldn't it be powerful if each classroom had a 'bottom line' mantra that framed how the class was run?  Maybe mine will be:  "Be patient; always ask." If we introduce this on the first day of school and come back to it again and again, kids have something to hang their hat on.

     Immediate gratification.  Rafe talked about this in terms of deciding what hotel to check into and what kind of food to feed the kids, but in the classroom the immediate gratification of success, I think, is very important.  Don't let students delay success.  Let them see it now.  This probably involves allowing each student to fully define what success means to them and finding a way to bend the curriculum or the daily lessons to accomodate it.

    Finally, running the classroom on its own 'cash' economy is a very transferable reality.  The only thing I'd change for the high school level is make the most expensive seats the ones in the back of the room, not the ones up by the teacher.

Hobart Shakespeareans

Rafe Esquith's work with inner city Los Angeles kids at Hobart Elementary School has received multiple awards and accolades. His mantra of "There Are No Shortcuts" is modeled with his work ethic--students voluntarily arriving at school at 6:30 and staying until as late as 6 p.m. each day. His students typically are identified as living below the poverty level and from families whose first language is not English, yet student scores are in the top 5-10 percent on standardized testing. While , admittedly, this model is not for everyone let alone the faint of heart, what can we learn from his story even for classes in middle and high school, a decidedly different audience than Rafe's.

Big Projects

It seems that to assign a big project it would take a lot of planning, forethought, and anticipation—all of which may be reasons that a teacher would stray away from them. But the excitement and effort that students put into them, and the learning that results seems to far out-weigh any excuse about time and planning on the teacher's part. After all, isn't that what we're here to do—inspire our students to stretch their limits, making those connections that come so easily with big projects?
I was really impressed with the student visitors' enthusiasm for the projects, and equally impressed that they did not mind admitting the frustrations they had with the project. One thing that was really clear was that they had developed a very open and easy communication with their teacher, and they were able to bounce ideas off of her without feeling intimidated. I keep coming back to this, but I think that creation of community in the classroom is really crucial and seems to be a really important piece in the success of large projects like this.

Energy and Understanding

What wonderful energy in our class last Wednesday evening!  I think that "big projects" are a key way for both teachers and students to understand their own learning and creative process.  And, perhaps even more important than area content, helping students understand their cognitive path in executing a project is a huge tool for success in the larger world.   Do you need lots of preparation before you create, or do you need to start to create before you have an idea of where you're going? Do you need the details of "primary sources" before you can formulate a narrative, or do you use a narrative to inform the details you will search for?  Do you think best in the shower, while jogging, or do you need to keep a notebook by your bed for those 3 a.m. AHA! moments?  To facilitate this kind of learning, however, educators do need to move beyond micromanagement and cede control to chaos.  I liked how the keynote speaker at the October 19th literacy conference talked about how doubt comes just before success.  Coaching students through doubt (and managing your own) would be important in some of these larger endeavors. 

Big projects

The "Big Projects" topic in class focused on civics and social studies topics, but certainly can be applied to English classrooms. Please reflect on the speakers, the content, or other areas that come to mind as a result of the presentations from Pat Behner, Coby Haas, and the two students, Mamie and Kenny.

Cullum and Greatness

The fact that Cullum was able to make these kids appreciate Shakespeare, Shaw, and Sophocles is a feat in itself. While watching the video I saw that his students were fully interested in the subject matter. I liked the debate style session he held with them, I thought that was unique. I didn't like his idea of the mississippi running through the classroom -- I just thought about all of the paper he was wasting.

I read on someone else's post something regarding his sexuality. I might have noticed or made a mental note questioning how the school/school board/district/etc. felt about this. I'm not implying anything in regards to Cullum but rather the thoughts and beliefs from that time period. I'm sure that things were difficult enough but just adding that in as a variable might've stirred the pot up more.

I guess that I'm most impressed with his ways to get the students involved. I know that it's difficult to incorporate learning and fun and entertainment into one little ball but even with his success there had to be some failure and I wonder what it looked like.

A Touch of Greatness

What inspiration.
I was touched and really inspired by this film—if only all classes could be so instructive and motivational for students! I found myself in a bit of disbelief and awe at how well-spoken some of the students were (as children) when they were interviewed—they were almost more well-spoken in their early years than they were as adults! I don't think I've heard such articulate language coming so easily from the students I'm working with.
While quite inspirational, the film got me to wondering how realistic developing that kind of love for Shakespeare and drama can be in today's classrooms. Especially when so much time and energy is now focused on student's testing abilities and their potential to make high marks on this or that exam.
Certainly, not all teachers have the same kind of passion for Shakespeare, but I would hope that we each have that kind of passion for *something* in our content. What a world it would be if we could each find the drive to teach a piece of our curriculum like that!

Untitled

This was a sweet film.  It made me miss my Great Aunt, a tiny little music teacher who was educated at Julliard, went on to teach Bill Buckley, Jr. and his siblings, and lived in Caramoor, in the composer's cottage.  There was always an outdoor version of something Shakespearean happening.  She died the same year as Cullum.  Her funeral was mobbed with people literally singing her praises.

Follow your passions?  Could the professional message from the film be as simple as that?  Share your love for your subject and don't expect the expected of your students?  Students rise to the heights to which they are allowed?  Mediocrity has blunted the objective of education? Teaching is theatre?  Learning is play?  

At the secondary level it feels that this film is endorsing the things I believe: that young people should feel and be the voices that actively construct their (our) world.  That learning is exploration and apprenticeship. 

I'll admit that I wondered if Cullum's sexuality was ever questioned.  It seemed that might've been a component in some of the arguments raised by his detractors.  People are funny in what they decide should be 'the enemy'.  It's too bad Cullum didn't/couldn't stay in the elementary classroom longer.

A Touch of Greatness

Albert Cullum saw a touch of greatness in every child, but his methods were not well received by all. Please comment how what you viewed in this documentary might be applicable to your own career as a teacher or add other thoughts about the movie in general.

Digested

Ok, so I had time to take in everything that Amy had to say and at first I was optimistic and very ready to try this out. Now, it works in a sense with my students that I have for Am Hist 2 and Language Arts, but with the other History (Soc Studies) teacher it doesn't. I approached her with some very similar ideas that I picked up from the discussion on Wed. And, as I find often with "seasoned teachers" is the aversion to anything and anyone new. There was a lot of responses from my fellow teachers which sound very positive, but I am finding meet with little action. I know this is a case by case type of issue, so I will keep from throwing the stereotypes and the misgivings around about our veteran co-workers.

SO focusing on all the positives of the visitors and the interaction with the social studies teachers is paramount. I enjoyed the chaotically quick tempo of the class and the vibe you get from listening to determined people who have a lot of confidence in what they are doing (or at least sound confident) I also really took a bit of what was discussed and thought about how it would be beneficial if team teachers cross-trained and took on the professional development principle of getting highly qualified in the roles they share with their co-worker. So, I personally have planned to go get another Praxis 2 test knocked out this winter and will see if I need to do anything else to prepare for the potential of putting this style of teaching to practice. There is a new, young science teacher in my high school who is very open to the idea of team teaching, so maybe I can look at coming up with a few ideas to connect more with the sciences and language arts. I know it's a stretch, but then I figure maybe that's how Sci-Fi was once created!!??!! Any thoughts?